No animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture, but 70 members of the cast and crew were. If you love cats of all sizes, if you love ill-fated movies never meant to be (but that somehow do exist), if you love non-stop total PERIL, then we’ve unearthed the pick of the season. 11 years and many millions in the offing, plus many real-life Apocalypse Now-style tragedies later, this maniacal, well-meaning fever dream/career-derailing utopian social experiment/animal-attack crucible starred spouses Tippi Hedren (The Birds) and Noel Marshall, their real children (including a 14-year-old Melanie Griffith!), and 110 unpredictable lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs from their own private collection in what’s justly been labeled “the most dangerous film ever made.” Roar’s loose “plot” about a dude living on the African delta, and his visiting family fending off all the wildcats in the hood is but a paper-thin device with which to shove as many rampaging beasts into the frame at all times; these cool cats are the real guiding force of the film’s frequently shocking moments, even the real(?) blood dripping down the actors’ bodies. Plus: are the family’s performances staged, or is that true fear in their eyes? Either way, there has never been anything like Roar, and there likely will never be again.
Dir. Noel Marshall, 1981, DCP, 102 min.

Watch the trailer for “Roar”!

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